Sacræ Stationes. Religious processions, cartography and emotional tourism as prerequisites for local development: possible cases of “smart destinations”

If it is true that religious processions represent a spiritual phenomenon strongly rooted in history and are testimonials of a past which preserves collective memory, it is also true that they are expressions of an ancient and multilayered culture that have influenced its territory in a unique and unrepeatable way. This collective memory is cyclically recalled by way of displays of ancient rituals. These displays are capable of attracting thousands of the faithful and ever more often groups of tourists interested in religious phenomena. They also lead to the rediscovery of aspects of history, culture, landscape and territory to which they are linked. A modern religious tourist who is less frenetic and more “experiential” would like to immerse him/herself in the sacred and natural surroundings and distance him/herself from the frantic pace of contemporary life. Thus, processional routes, above all in the internal areas at risk of marginalization, may represent the stakeholders of a priceless territorial capital (both environmental and cultural), capable of generating positive external effects and, therefore, to bring to light and promote these routes within plans of territorial valorization. In this sense, cartography, regardless of format, can represent an element of force capable of culturally communicating facts, phenomena, emotions and movements that would otherwise be too difficult to correlate.